Louder horn

I'm thinkg about putting in a louder horn, maybe the Seibel Compact Nautalis Dual Tone. The description says, in part:
Operating Voltage: 12 Volts
Absorbed Current: less than 18A
I'm not sure what 'absorbed current' is. Does that mean it should be on it's own circuit with a 20 amp fuse?

thanks,
mikeg

 

My understanding, Mike, is that those horns draw a lot more current than the stock ones, and because of the increased current, a relay is installed and some thicker wire to provide the power to the horn circuit. IIRC, without the updraded wire the stock wiring will be wrecked after the higher current horn is installed. Basic overload.

Here's a link describing the installation of a relay circuit for grips:

Relay info

I was investigating the PIAA horns hoping that a whole new circuit wouldn't be necessary, but I'm not sure about that.

It sounds like we have the same spring projects going with our 750 Maxims...

 

Thanks for the URL.

You're right, it certainly sounds like we're headed in the same direction. We'll have to compare once the majority of the work is done. I say "the majority" because I suspect mine at least will always be a work in progress.

mikeg

 

Take a look at these: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=13715.html

 

I'm with you on that, too, Mike. Doing all this work is a lot of the fun for me.

Cheers,

 

A louder horn is a great idea. I added a second horn - big difference. TEh one Fitz recommends is a great horn also.

 

I wanted a louder horn. I bought a 130 db horn and a relay. I wanted to install it in the stock position. I ran a wired directly from the battery to the relay and hooked the relay up to the existing wiring. That part worked great. The horn barely fit and I had to use the stock mount on the old horn. It was such a close fit I had to remove some parts off of the engine to get it in place. Once in place and bolted up; the bell on the horn had to rest against the frame. Now the horn worked great when I tested the relay wiring but once in place but with the bell against the frame the sound was attenuated. Now I have a soft horn sound with a relay :lol:

 

So Fitz, did you need to put in a relay or is the current draw about the same as the originals?

mikeg

 

The relays are simple to install and no matter what happens will give you better power to the horn... I highly recommend it.

 

I run a pair of Freeway Blasters on mine using a relay to power them. They're loud as hell! I mounted mine on the front of the frame, just under the fork tree. They are red and chrome, so they don't look to shabby either. You can find them at auto parts stores.
Even regular car horns are alot louder than most bike horns and all you need to do is paint them to dress them up.